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Historic status puts demolition on hold

Members of the Historic District Commission climb through snow drifts to tour two blighted Post Road West houses Monday that they would like to convince the owner to save from planned demolition.

Members of the Historic District Commission climb through snow drifts to tour two blighted Post Road West houses Monday that they would like to convince the owner to save from planned demolition.

Photo: Jarret Liotta

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Carol Leahy, staff administrator for the Historic District Commission, and Matthew Mandell, a Representative Town Meeting member from District 1, explore the abandoned house at 57 Post Road West on Monday.

Carol Leahy, staff administrator for the Historic District Commission, and Matthew Mandell, a Representative Town Meeting member from District 1, explore the abandoned house at 57 Post Road West on Monday.

Photo: Jarret Liotta

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Trash and tattered belongings left behind by squatters in an upstairs room of the abandoned house at 57 Post Road West.

Trash and tattered belongings left behind by squatters in an upstairs room of the abandoned house at 57 Post Road West.

Photo: Jarret Liotta

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Gregory Farmer, left, of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, chats with Francis Henkels, Historic District Commission chairman, during a Monday tour of blighted Post Road West properties.

Gregory Farmer, left, of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, chats with Francis Henkels, Historic District Commission chairman, during a Monday tour of blighted Post Road West properties.

Photo: Jarret Liotta

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Historic District Commission members Francis Henkels and Betsy Wacker examine an antique ski pole found among the debris in the attic at 57 Post Road West.

Historic District Commission members Francis Henkels and Betsy Wacker examine an antique ski pole found among the debris in the attic at 57 Post Road West.

Photo: Jarret Liotta

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Debris and trash litter the floor in front of a fireplace at 57 Post Road West.

Debris and trash litter the floor in front of a fireplace at 57 Post Road West.

Photo: Jarret Liotta

Historic status puts demolition on hold

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WESTPORT -- A house divided will not stand, and although that's the fate the owner has in mind for two deteriorating Post Road West houses, Historic District Commission members hope to find an alternative to demolishing the structures.

Gregory Farmer, Connecticut circuit rider for the nonprofit trust, said the buildings 57 Post Road West at the corner of Cross Street, which was built in approximately 1825, and 63 Post Road West, circa 1850, could be saved and restored, if the owner so chooses.

"There are two good historic structures here," he said, "well-built, poorly treated."

The property owner, Cross Street LLC, had filed for permits to demolish the buildings, but the HDC last month refused to issue a waiver of the 180-day delay automatically imposed on the demolition of historic buildings in town. Two other structures on the site, however, can be razed as soon as the owner wants, while a fifth building is currently rented by a tenant.

Over many years, the Post Road West buildings have deteriorated from neglect, much to the consternation of neighbors who have expressed concern about their appearance as well as health and safety issues regarding asbestos and lead paint.

Representative Town Meeting member Louis Mall, District 2, who lives nearby and was instrumental in the creation of the Blight Prevention Board, joined the tour.

"If you lived in this neighborhood, wouldn't you want to see it removed?" Mall asked Farmer, who reserved judgment.

Farmer, however, did say that while the cosmetics of each house are lacking -- and poor-quality additions later were added -- the core of each house is, in his estimation, sound and salvageable, contingent on whether the owner wants to do the work.

"The main block is very solidly built and nicely detailed," he said of 57 Post Road West, noting that 63 Post Road West is in better shape.

"We try to look beyond the cosmetic appearance to see if the building is basically sound," he said. "The deterioration of the surfaces is basically very normal."

The buildings have holes in rotting roofs, broken windows and floor boards, peeling paint and general decay.

"The additions were not well-constructed," Farmer added, "and it's no surprise they'd be deteriorating."

Farmer said, however, that he could not issue a report because he would need to know what the plans might be in development for the property's future use.

Grathwohl told the blight board last month that, because of downturns in the economy, plans to develop the property have not been formulated.

"You can't justify the cost it would take to fix up either one of these," Grathwohl said. "You could never get your money back. They're so far gone."

Matthew Mandell, an RTM member from District 1, who also visited the houses, said there is a possibility that the town could strike a deal for incentives to make restoration more attractive to a developer. He cited the Terrain store on Post Road East, where owners were invited to propose a text amendment that enabled them to modify parking requirements in exchange for preserving an old house on the property that also was to be demolished.

"It gives them an advantage to save the historic house," he said.

Asked if restoring the house would satisfy neighbors, Mall said it would "show that the blight ordinance worked," as "nothing's been done for 15 years" to repair the properties. But now, he said, the law is prompting action.

Francis Henkels, the Historic District Commission chairman, said the commission would now determine what sort of proposal or suggestion it might make to Bernard and Cross Street LLC.

"Our next step is to approach the owner and request a response," he said.